October November 2019 - RajRAS · 2019. 12. 11. · Rajasthan Current Affairs October November 2019 - RAJRAS 1 Summary of Livestock Population in Rajasthan S.NO Variety State Rank

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OctoberNovember2019

Rajasthan Current Affairs October November 2019 - RAJRAS

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20thLivestockCensusofRajasthan

The Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying under Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying attributes critical importance to livestock and to the collection and availability of up-to-date and accurate data related to livestock, as they are the vital component of rural economy. 20th Livestock Census of Rajasthan was conducted as part of 20th Livestock Census of India. This post lists summary as per the provisional data released by the department.

Animal Husbandry is a major economic activity of the rural peoples, specially in the arid and semi-arid regions of the Rajasthan. Development of livestock sector has a significant beneficial impact in generating employment and reducing poverty in rural areas.

What is Livestock Census ?

The Livestock Census is the main source of such data in the country. The livestock census is conducted across the country periodically since 1919. The census usually covers all domesticated animals and head counts of these animals are taken. So far, 19 Livestock Censuses were conducted in participation with State Governments and UT Administrations. The last Livestock Census was conducted in 2012 as 19th Livestock Census - Statistics

The 20th Livestock Census was launched during the month of October 2018. The enumeration was done in both rural and urban areas. Various species of animals (cattle, buffalo, mithun, yak, sheep, goat, pig, horse, pony, mule, donkey, camel, dog, rabbit and elephant)/poultry birds (fowl, duck and other poultry birds) possessed by the households, household enterprises/ non-household enterprises were counted at that site. Another important feature of 20th Livestock Census is it has been designed to capture Breed-wise number of animals and poultry birds.


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Summary of Livestock Population in Rajasthan

S.NO Variety State Rank in India

Population (In Millions) 2019

1 Livestock 2 56.8

2 Poultry 17 14.6

3 Cattle 6 13.9

4 Buffalo 2 13.7

5 Sheep 4 7.9

6 Goat 1 20.84

7 Pig

8 Camel 1 0.213

9 Horses & Ponies 3 0.034

10 Mules 0.001

11 Donkeys 1 0.23

12 Mihtun - 0

13 Yak - 0

DecliningCamelPopulationinRajasthan

About 85 per cent of India's camel population survives in Rajasthan. The other major states with a sizeable camel population include Gujarat, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Given the current scenario, the camel (Camelus dromedaries), the State Animal of Rajasthan, may soon figure in the IUCN Red List as a critically endangered species.


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Decline in Camel Population

In the 20th Livestock Census, the camel population in the state has dipped by 71 per cent since the 1990s. The latest census indicates 213,000 camels in Rajasthan, down from 746,000 in 1992. Overall, the camel population in India dipped by almost 37 per cent since 2011 and 75 per cent since 1992.

Reasons for decline of Camel Population:

• Mechanisation:

o The camel was an important draught animal in the state, but slowly, mechanisation overtook it.

• Smuggling:

o Camel trading is common in Bengal, Bihar and UP. Animals taken from Rajasthan are sold in the markets of Itahar, Chanchal, Harishchandrapur, Ratua in West Bengal and some other areas.

o There is a huge demand for camel meat in Bangladesh as well.

• Proliferation of diseases

o The most commonly found disease in camels, trypanosomiasis, which leads to still birth and dystokia.

o Other reasons for the dwindling camel population are rampant morbidity and mortality.

• Distorted male-female ratio of camels.

• Ecosystem disruptions along with climate change - decrease in grazing and pasture land.

• Lack of pastures and grazing land for these animals.

• Policy failure:

o The State enacted the Rajasthan Camel (Prohibition of Slaughter and Regulation of Temporary Migration or Export) Act. This act banned selling or transporting of these camels outside the state. This has left the animal without a market outside the state.


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Steps taken by Rajasthan government to improve camel population:

• Declaration of Camel as State animal of Rajasthan.

• The Rajasthan Camel (Prohibition of Slaughter and Regulation of Temporary Migration or Export) Act, 2015 to prevent illegal smuggling & trading of camels. As per the act, illegal transportation of camels, without the permission from a competent authority, is a punishable crime with rigorous imprisonment of between six months and three years and attracts a fine of Rs 5,000 to 25,000.

• A dedicated National Research Centre on Camel (NRCC), has been started in Jorbeer, Bikaner.

• On 2 October 2016, the Rajasthan state government announced Ushtra Vikas Yojana, an innovative new Camel Development Scheme. Government of Rajasthan will support camel breeders with a subsidy of INR 10,000 (payable over a period of eighteen months) for each camel calf born, along with other measures which include training centres, improved access to veterinary treatment and research on camel products.

• On 2 December 2016, the Indian government made the long-awaited announcement of FSSAI standards for camel milk, resolving an issue which has held back camel dairy development in India for years.

AdhocBonusannouncedforStateGovernmentEmployees

The state government announced to pay adhoc bonus on the festive occasion to approximately 6 lakh employees of the State. This Diwali bonus will be paid to all employees getting salaries at pay-matrix level L-12 and below expect the State Service (Gazetted) cadre officers.

Maximum bonus payable for the year 2018-19 will be Rs. 6,774. This bonus will also be given to Panchayat Samiti, Zila Parishad employees and work-charge employees as well. The payment of bonus would have an additional financial burden of Rs. 406 crores to the state exchequer.


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Rajasthanmaygetfourthreserveforbigcats

Rajasthan is poised to get its fourth tiger reserve with the forest department deliberating on upgrading the Ramgarh Vishdhari wildlife sanctuary. The total area of 1017 sqkm that has been identified as the reserve area comprising two forest blocks of Bhilwara, territorial forest block of Bundi and Indargarh, which falls under buffer zone of Ranthambore Tiger Reserve (RTR). Currently Rajasthan has 3 reserves for big cats including:

• Ranthambore NP

• Sariska NP

• Mukundura Hills (Darrah) NP

The state government has been advised to send proposal for declaring Ramgarh Vishdhari wildlife sanctuary by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA). The notification will be issued after NTCA gives its final approval.

Ramgarh Vishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary

• In 1982, a part of the forest in Bundi was declared as Ramgarh Vishdhari Wildlife Sanctuary under Section 5 of the Rajasthan Wild Animals and Birds Protection Act, 1951.

• The core area of the Ramgarh Vishdhari has eight villages. The sanctuary currently has lepoards, sambhars, chitals, wild boars, smaller cats, caracals, chinkaras and nilgai.

KumbhalgarhTigerReserveproposalgathersMomentum

Rajasthan forest department has initiated the process to upgrade Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary in Rajsamand district into another tiger reserve.

A final proposal has been submitted to chief wildlife warden for the same. Following the state government’s direction, assessment report on the potential for relocation of the big cats at the sanctuary was prepared by the department. Divisional forest officer Fateh Singh said, “We have submitted the final proposal. The proposed Kumbhalgarh tiger reserve has habitat, prey base and potential for breeding of tigers.”


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According to the draft, the name of the area is proposed to be Kumbhalgarh Tiger Reserve which will constitute Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary, Todgarh-Raoli Wildlife Sanctuary and adjoining forest areas. The area of the proposed reserve is 1280.49 square km, out of which 355.25 square km will be the core area and 925 square km as buffer area in phase I. The highlight of the proposed tiger reserve is that there are no revenue village in the core area.

Five tigers, including two males and three females, might be brought to the reserve and they could possibly breed because of which population of 20 tigers can be achieved in a period of 10 years. Once, tigers used to roam in the natural forests of Kumbhalgarh and Raoli-Todgarh. The habitat of both the sanctuaries is suitable to tigers, other predators and its prey base. Also, a corridor connects both the sanctuaries.

Wildlife lover Rituraj Singh said, “Tiger must be reintroduced at Kumbhalgarh which was its natural habitat till 1970. With good prey base and not much human interference, tiger reintroduction at KTR should not be delayed any further.”

The proposed reserve lies in the districts of Pali, Rajsamand, Udaipur and Ajmer of Rajasthan state and is located in the oldest range of Aravallis spreading over the tract starting from Khulbrahora (Gujrat) and culminating on Delhi ridge. The forested areas provides the habitat to support large carnivores like tiger, leopard, sloth bear, wolf, hyena, wild dog and their prey species such as sambar, chital, four-horned antelope, chinkara, blackbuck, nilgai and wild boar. Another wildlife lover Anil Rojer said, “Re-introduction of tigers will support to grow and flourish last remaining thick forest of Mewar and Marwar belt.”

The draft says to implement this project will require total financial outlay of 6552.5 lakh for the period of 5 years. Apart from developing soft release enclosure at release site of reintroduced tiger, various habitat development works will be carried out to develop grassland for herbivores. However, these two sanctuaries have sufficient buildings, including forest chowkies, for effective management along with check-post and barriers at required places.

Rajbansunregulatedponzischemes

Rajasthan has become the first state to implement the central government’s Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act, 2019, providing a major relief to the account holders whose money has been trapped in ponzi schemes. The Act was passed in the Lok Sabha in July 2019 to plug gaps in the existing laws to counter illicit depositing activities.


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The law is applicable with a retrospective effect. It has come as a ray of hope for thousands of depositors whose money is trapped in fraud credit societies like Navjeevan, Adarsh, Sanjivini and Arbuda Credit Cooperative Society, which were recently exposed by the state police. State has 1,159 registered societies and registration on new societies has been banned due to a rise in the cases of defaulter societies.

The Act empowers the competent authority to collect the real time data on the activities of the societies. The Act also empowers the competent authority to seize and attach properties and accounts of the defaulter societies. The state has written to the Chief Justice to open designated courts at all the divisional headquarters under the Act, which is one of the three conditions required to implement the Act.

RajasthanhaslowconsumptionofIodisedSalt

A countrywide study "India Iodine Survey 2018-19" has been released recently that estimates the iodine status of the population and assess the extent to which households have access to adequately iodised salt. The findings show that the coverage of adequately iodised salt at the household level is 65.5% in Rajasthan against the national average of 76.3%.

Rajasthan is one of the three states with the lowest consumption of iodine. Tamil Nadu (61.9%) and Andhra Pradesh (63.9%) are the other two states behind Rajasthan.

Iodine is a vital micronutrient needed regularly in small quantities for optimal mental and physical development.

UnemploymentAllowanceextendedtoTransgenders

The state government has extended the unemployment allowance to transgenders who would now get Rs 3,500 per month as given to women under the scheme. The allowance would be provided under the Mukhyamantri Jan Sambal Yojana.


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7RajasthanrailwaystationsamongIndia’s10cleanest

Railway Minister Piyush Goyal recently released the Swachh Rail, Swachh Bharat 2019 survey or Cleanliness assessment of Non-suburban and Suburban Stations 2019 Survey Report. Thecleanliness survey is carried out by QCI – Quality Council of India. The council tool 720 Non – Suburban stations and Suburban Stations for the survey. Highlights of the report are:

• 7 Railway Stations from Rajasthan made it to Top 10.

o Rank 1 – Jaipur with a cleanliness score of 931.75 out of 1000.

o Rank 2 – Jodhpur

o Rank 3 - Durgapura, Jaipur

o Rank 4 – Jammu Tawi

o Rank 5 – Gandhinagar, Jaipur

o Rank 6 - Suratgarh

o Rank 7 - Vijayawada

o Rank 8 - Udaipur

o Rank 9 – Ajmer

o Rank 10 – Haridwar

• In the suburban group of stations, Maharashtra’s Andheri station has topped the list.

• North Western Railway Zone followed by South East Central Railway Zone and East Central Railway Zone are the top three railway zones.

Recent steps taken by Railways to improve cleanliness:

• Indian Railways has also banned single use plastic across its premises 2nd October 2019 onwards.

• Installation of bio toilets in all passenger coaches.

• Installation of plastic bottle crushing machines at 128 stations to handle plastic waste.

• Outsourcing of cleanliness & deployment of mechanized cleaning equipment at major stations.

• Improving flooring of platforms to enable mechanized cleaning


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• Providing separate dustbins for different types of wastes.

• Employing CCTVs to monitor cleaning practices.

• Development of a "Customer Complaint" Web Portal and Mobile Application to collect continuous Citizen Feedback.

• Introducing Pay-and-Use toilets at various stations;(8) Enforcement of Indian Railways (Penalties for activities affecting cleanliness at railway premises) Rules, 2012.

• Information, education & communication to create awareness among people through cleanliness drives. These include drives against plastic waste, Swachhta hi-seva, swachhta pakhwara and special cleanliness drives held in first week of September 2019.

Rajasthanbanscertaincategoriesofpanmasala

On Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary, the Rajasthan government announced a ban on pan masala containing magnesium carbonate, nicotine, tobacco, mineral oil and flavoured betel nut. According to the order, production, storage and distribution of these products are prohibited in the state. All such products will now be banned in the State under the Food Safety Act. The state government had previously banned the distribution of ‘gutka’ in 2012. And earlier in 2019, the state government had banned hookah bars and e-cigarettes.

With this, Rajasthan has become the third State after Maharashtra and Bihar to announce such a move.

According to Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2017, 13.2% of the population in Rajasthan consume tobacco in the form of cigarettes, with men accounting for 22% and women 3.7%. The figure for chewing tobacco is 14.1%, with men again at 22% and women 5.8%. Currently, there are 77,000 people in the state who suffer from diseases due to smoking or chewing tobacco.

The ban is the correct step to reduce patients who suffer from ailments due to consumption of such harmful products and the decision has been taken to prevent addiction amongst youngsters.

RajPoliceAcademytobeplastic-free

The Rajasthan Police Academy (RPA) has announced the ‘no plastic policy’ under which single-use plastic has been banned on its premises. Besides, the academy is also a tobacco-free area since


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2008. Additional inspector general and director, RPA, Hemant Priyadarshi, said all employees, trainees, trainers and visitors were prohibited from using polythene bags, disposable plastic bottles, glasses, cups, plates, etc.

All-womencanteenlaunched

Churu district collector Sandesh Nayak has launched an all-women canteen called “Kasturba Canteen”at the district collectorate. In first-of-its kind canteen, from cooking to serving food, all work here is done by women.

DeficitRainfalldistrictsin2019inRajasthan

Despite 42% excess rainfall in which floods were witnessed at many districts, four districts including

• Sriganganagar,

• Hanumangarh,

• Karauli

• Alwar

have received deficit rainfall.

Peace&non-violencecelllaunched

Chief minister Ashok Gehlot launched the peace and non-violence cell at the Rajasthan Khadi and Village Industries Board (which will also serve as its office) on October 2.

• Retired IAS officer S S Bissa will be the cell’s coordinator.

• There will be 5-6 members in the cell.

• The posts that will be created shall be at the level of joint secretaries, deputy secretaries and assistant secretary/section officer.


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The role of the cell will largely be of an advisory group to suggest the government about various activities to be undertaken and to give a roadmap for the formation of a department. The cell will also monitor and conduct the one-year long celebrations of 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. It will also work with school and college children and involve them in various activities related to Gandhi's life, teachings and philosophy.

Gandhian Rajagopal PV, had suggested to Rajasthan CM that a non-violence department should be created by the Rajasthan government.

UNESCOtieswithRajasthanGovernment

Recently, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) joined hands with Rajasthan government to conserve and revive the dying traditions of music, art and craft forms, and other intangible cultural heritage of the western Rajasthan. The programme seeks to create 10 art and craft hubs in Barmer, Jodhpur, Bikaner and Jaisalmer.

UnicodeofRajasthanilanguages

The Rajasthan State government is developing a unified unicode of Rajasthani languages for international recognition. The initiative will also help in the claim to get it included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.

Rajasthani language, which is a composite form of 10 languages, doesn’t have an official unicode, thereby restricting its access and spread among the millennial populace.

What is Unicode of Language ?

A Unicode is a computing translation of alphabets recognised by software. This encoding standard provides the basis for processing, storage and interchange of text data in any language in all modern software and information technology protocols.

The Unicode Character Standard primarily encodes scripts rather than languages. That is, where more than one language shares a set of symbols that have a historically related derivation, the union of the set of symbols of each such language is unified into a single collection identified as a single script.


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These collections of symbols (i.e., scripts) then serve as inventories of symbols which are drawn upon to write particular languages. In many cases, a single script may serve to write tens or even hundreds of languages.

Unicode of Rajasthani Languages ?

The project has been conceived and handled by Rajasthan State Archives, Bikaner (RSAB). The software is being developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing, a subsidiary of the ministry of communications and information.

The project aims to translate the erstwhile princely state languages in Hindi and discover the untold facets of their jurisprudence. The project will change the course of Rajasthan’s history by adding new elements in culture, food, dress, medicine, science, governance and innovation

Rajasthani Language in Eight Schedule ?

In 2003 the State Assembly had passed a resolution for including the Rajasthani language in the Eighth Schedule. Recently, the Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Mr. Gehlot, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to give due recognition to the state language.

ImportantDecisionstakeninStateCabinetMeeting

Chief Minister Shri Ashok Gehlot chaired the meeting of State Cabinet at CM Office on October 14th. Several important decisions were taken therein, including:

Indirect election of the mayors or chairpersons

• Indirect election of the mayors or chairpersons of the municipal corporations and other municipalities. This decision was taken in favour of the public representatives' repeated demand and broader public interest.


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Withdrawal of Pension for MISA pensioners

• The Cabinet further decided to withdraw the pension, medical facility and other allowances of the MISA, DIR and CrPC prisoners in the state.

• Previous government had decided in favour of offering these facilities to such prisoners as per Rajasthan Loktantra Senani Samman Nidhi Niyam, 2008, which the Cabinet annulled.

• This decision would save about Rs. 40 crore annually.

Extension of TSP Benefits for Women

• The State Cabinet also decided to give reservation benefits of the TSP region to the women of non-TSP area, who were residing in the TSP area after getting married. For this, the Department of Personnel would issue a fresh notification overriding the notification dated July 4, 2016.

Other Important Decisions Other important decisions of the Cabinet include,

• Amendments in various clerical staff services rules to give relaxation from having computer skills to the widow Class IV employees' for promotion as clerk

• 7th Pay Commission salary benefits to the semi-skilled and unskilled mechanics of the Civil Aviation department;

• Change of cadre of the Psychological Counselors from Rajasthan Medical & Health Subordinate Services to the State Service;

• Amendment in Rajasthan Civil Service (Revised Pay) Rules, 2008 to ensure better salary payments to the Assistant Statistical Officer (Agriculture) and the Statistical Assistant of Agriculture department;

• Amendment in Rajasthan Assembly Secretariat (Recruitment & Service Conditions) Rules, 1992 for relaxation in experience from 3 years to 2 years for promotion.


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FourNewTehsils,TwoSubTehsilFormed

Chief Minister Shri Ashok Gehlot has approved the proposal of forming new tehsils in four districts and sub tehsils in two districts of Rajasthan. CM had announced for establishing these new revenue units during the Budget Session of the State Assembly.

As per the proposal,

• Sikari sub tehsil in Bharatpur,

• Sidhmukh in Churu,

• Mania in Dholpur

• Delwara in Rajasmand district

will be upgraded as tehsils.

Also,

• Halena gram panchayat in Bharatpur

• Bhandarej panchayat in Dausa district

would be given sub tehsil status.

This decision would result in easy access of revenue administration to the locals for raising and disposal of their revenue related matters.

BalSabhainitiativeinRajasthan

Recently, the state government of Rajasthan has introduced Bal Sabha initiative, as an attempt to bring out and sharpen talent among young students in government schools and to provide them with a platform to perform and a weekly occasion to their parents, villagers and local representatives to interact with the school teachers, to know about the working of the school.

The sabhas have now become an awaited event every week for the students, parents, locals as well as teachers.

Earlier, the sabhas were restricted only to school premises and were meant for only primary and middle-level students. Bal Sabha now have expanded to the local community, proving itself as a


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platform for students to perform and for parents and locals to appreciate them as well as to get feedback on the working of school.

Additionally, the students are also showing an inclination to learn the arts on the verge of extinction and the Bal Sabha is coming up as a platform for the students in government schools to perform.

RajasthanExportPromotionCoordinationCouncilREPCCNotified

The Rajasthan state government has notified the Rajasthan Export Promotion Coordination Council (REPCC) to provide guidance to the exporters and coordinate between different industrial organizations, exporters or various state government departments to remove difficulties in export of various goods and services. Additionally, the government has also notified, setting-up of yet another council, named Rajasthan Export Promotion Council to develop, promote and support export-oriented industries along with allied activities in Rajasthan.

Rajasthan Export Promotion Coordination Council (REPCC)

Chief Secretary will chair the 19-member Rajasthan Export Promotion Coordination Council and the Additional Chief Secretary Industries will the Deputy Chair. Additional Chief Secretaries of Transport, Mines & Minerals, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Finance departments along with Principal Secretaries of MSME, Tourism, Forest & Environment, Energy and Labour & Employment departments will be the members of this body. Commissioners of Commercial Taxes (GST) and the Bureau of Investment Promotion and Managing Director of Rajasthan Small Industries Corporation Ltd will also be the members, while Commissioner Industries will be the Member Secretary.

For managing day-to-day affairs of the Rajasthan Export Promotion Coordination Council, a four-member Management Committee would be constituted under the chairmanship of Commissioner Industries. Additional Director (Export) of the Industries department will be the Member Secretary of this committee .

Rajasthan Export Promotion Coordination Council (REPCC) will also have two members of the Rajasthan Export Promotion Council as its members. The state government will further nominate the representatives and experts from the industry to the Coordination Council from time to time.


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Major Functions of REPCC:

The Council will support in developing basic infrastructural facilities required for expansion of export from Rajasthan and coordinate with various departments and enterprises of the Government of India for promotion of exports. It will also play important role in organizing international, national or state-level fairs &exhibitions, workshops, conventions, business meets or seminars etc for expansion of export business.

The Coordination Council will constitute sector-wise committees or special panels for development of businesses in handicraft, textiles, agriculture, gems-jewelry sectors or region-wise committees for Mewar, Marwar, Hadauti and Shekhawati regions.

Rajasthan Export Promotion Council

The Chief Minister has approved for setting-up of the Rajasthan Export Promotion Council under the Companies Act, 2013.

Major Responsibilities:

Major responsibility of the Rajasthan Export Promotion Council will be to provide technical guidance and sharing of information and expert advice in regard to the demand of exports for various products, formalities required to be completed, coordination, counseling or financial support along with arrangements of conventions, business meetings and seminars, publication and distribution of promotional literature and providing international or national platforms to the exporters and other businessmen for promotion of their trades.

RajasthanStateWetlandAuthority

On 10th April 2018, Rajasthan Government had issued notification for State Wetland Authority to be setup under the Central Government Wetlands (Conservation & Management) Rules 2019. However, there has been no information on working of the authority.

In November 2019, after the recent deaths of more than 18000 birds in Sambhar Lake in Rajasthan, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot ordered the authority to be made operational at the earliest.


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Rajasthan has a number of both fresh & saline lakes supporting unique ecosystems, including Sambhar & keoladeo Ghana that have the prestigious Ramsar Convention Wetland status. However, still the successive state governments have neglected the protection of natural ecosystem of lakes.

State Wetland Authority

• Will be headed by state environment minister.

• Would comprise chief secretary, additional chief secretary (ACS), urban development and housing (UDH), ACS (revenue) and principal secretary (tourism), principal secretary (local self-government) and senior officials and experts from 12 departments.

• Will also include one expert each in the field of wetland ecology, hydrology, fisheries, landscape planning and socio-economics to be nominated by the state government.

Once functional, the authority will develop a comprehensive list of activities to be regulated and permitted within the notified wetlands and their zone of influence, recommend additional prohibited activities for specific wetlands, define strategies for conservation and wise use of wetlands, and undertake measures for enhancing awareness within stakeholders and local communities on values and functions of wetlands.

Avian botulism behind death of migratory birds at Sambhar Lake: Report

The mass death of migratory birds at the Sambhar Lake in Rajasthan occurred due to avian botulism, a disease caused by a bacteria that affects nerves, a report of Bareilly's Indian Veterinary Research Institute confirmed.

DigitalmuseumatStateassembly

Chief minister Ashok Gehlot launched the project for the digital museum in the state assembly. The museum will depict the history of the state from freedom movement and contribution of eminent political leaders from the state.


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RareGreatBitternsightedinBundiwetland

Great Bittern or Eurasian Bittern — has been sighted in the Ramnagar wetland in Bundi district. Bird experts claim that the unusual bird is slow moving and shy and has made its way for the first time to the arid land of Rajasthan, after having made its appearance in and around Delhi and once in Dehradun in 2002 and 2016.

Usually, having its habitat in wetlands of middle Europe and North Africa, Great Bittern is likely to have travelled around 4,400 miles to reach the wetlands in Bundi district, the bird experts believe.

WaterSecurityandClimateAdaptationinRuralIndia(WASCA)project

Jodhpur and Dungarpur have been identified as pilot districts for the Water Security and Climate Adaptation in Rural India (WASCA) project. The agreement was signed between the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Ministry of External Affairs, India. The bilateral project between government of India and GIZ, Germany, will have ministry of rural development and Jal Shakti ministry as the executing agencies.

Stategovernmentdeclares1,388villagesdroughtaffected

The state government has issued notification declaring 1,388 villages under 13 tehsils of Barmer, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Hanumangarh as drought affected. Under the notification:

• 131 villages of Barmer district have been declared as ‘severe drought’ affected and 92 villages are ‘moderately drought’ affected.

• In Jaisalmer, 632 villages have been declared as ‘severe’ and 40 villages are ‘moderately’ drought affected.

• In Jodhpur, 13 villages have been declared as ‘severe’ and 297 villages as ‘moderately drought-prone’.

• In Hanumangarh, 182 villages have been declared as severely drought affected and 1 village as moderately drought affected.


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RajasthanGovernmentestablishesJawaharLalNehruBalSahityaAcademy

To mark the 130th birth anniversary of first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru, the Rajasthan Chief Minister announced that the government will establish JawaharLal Nehru Bal Sahitya Academy to promote a sense of service towards nation and society among our children. It will also distribute children's literature to the them.

RajasthanGovernmentnotifiesCSRauthority

In November 2019, the State Government has notified Rajasthan CSR Authority to guide, monitor, and partner companies for achieving scale and improving efficiency in implementing social welfare projects. The authority will create a mechanism for the government and the companies to come together to take up welfare projects jointly for achieving scale and impact.

The three-tier authority will be represented by the chief minister, chief secretary, additional chief secretary of industries, and commissioner of industries besides senior officials from various departments.

Familycourtstocomeupinsixdistricts

In November 2019, the Rajasthan government has issued a notification to establish family courts in six districts of the state. The courts will be setup in Bharatpur, Bikaner, Jodhpur, Udaipur Ajmer and Alwar. These courts will hear cases referred by the Rajasthan High Court.

According to another notification, the state government has also notified to establish senior civil judge and additional chief judicial magistrate courts in Barmer and Jhalawar. Both the courts will have powers to hear civil cases of the districts.

6-memberadvisorypanelforpeacecellset-up

In November 2019, the state government has set up a six-member advisory committee for the peace and non-violence cell, which was formally launched at the Rajasthan Khadi and Village Industries Board on October 2 to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.


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The members of the committee include four experts:

• Former chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) D R Mehta,

• Former advocate general (AG) of Rajasthan G S Bafna,

• Health activist Dharamveer Katewa &

• Gandhian Manish Sharma.

Retired IAS officer S S Bissa is the cell’s coordinator and Lalit Bhagat has been appointed deputy secretary of the peace and non-violence cell.

Tolltaxonprivatevehiclesreinstalled

In November 2019, the public works department (PWD) issued a notification reintroducing toll tax on private four-wheelers on the state highways. The previous state government had exempted 55 state highways from collecting toll from April 1, 2018, which had resulted in a loss of nearly Rs 172 crore.

Prior to the exemption, the state highways were collecting Rs 851 crore yearly, which was utilised in the maintenance and construction work of roads. The revenue earned from the toll tax would help strengthen the roads network and also contribute towards the upkeep of the state highways. (TOI)

Shakti-2019

Shakti 2019 was conducted from October 31 till November 13 at the Mahajan Field Firing Range. Shakti is a biennial exercise, conducted alternately in India and France by Armies of both countries.

JusticeMohammadRafiq

• Justice Mohammad Rafiq, senior judge of Rajasthan High Court will now be the Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court.

• Justice Rafiq would be the third high court judge from Rajasthan to become a chief justice. As at present,


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o Justice Govind Mathur is Chief Justice at Allahabad High Court,

o Justice RS Chauhan is Chief Justice at Telangana High Court,

JalJeevanMission–Rajasthan

The Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) in Rajasthan has initiated action to implement the Centre's Jal Jeevan Mission by getting water from different sources, including rainwater harvesting, and bring piped water to households.

What is Jal Jeevan Mission

During the Independence Day 2019 speech PM Modi announced that the government will launch Jal Jeevan Mission to bring piped water supply to every house. The mission will converge with other Central and State Government Schemes to achieve its objectives of sustainable water supply management across the country.

Objectives:

• To provide piped water supply (हर घर जल) to all rural households by 2024.

• The mission envisages supply of 55 litres of water per person per day to every rural household by 2024.

• Also aims to create local infrastructure for rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge and management of household waste water for reuse in agriculture.

Benefits

• Household pipeline water supply

• Clean and drinkable water

• Recharge of ground water level

• Better local infrastructure

• Less water-borne diseases

• Less water wastage


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Budget

• The government will spend more than Rs. 3.5 Lakh crore in coming years.

Nodal Department:

• Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation under the Jal Shakti Ministry.

Jal Jeevan Mission in Rajasthan

A “mission mode” has been adopted in Rajasthan for providing piped water supply connections to about 98 lakh households stipulated in the flagship Central scheme. Only 12% of the households in the State were currently getting piped water supply, a huge task lay ahead to meet the target.

Jal Jeevan Mission would be implemented under the State Water and Sanitation Mission, which was already functional. Water and Sanitation Committee and Water Committee would be set up in each of the districts.

The Union Ministry of Jal Shakti is holding discussions with all the States in five phases for their action plans under the Jal Jeevan Mission. The PHED officers from Rajasthan held deliberations at a workshop in Odisha's Puri town last month.

Additonally, emphasis is being laid on generating public awareness for conservation of water.

Points to Note:

• Jal JeevanMission is announced by PM on - 15th Aug, 2019

• The targeted year of Jal JeevanMission is - 2024

DraftRajasthanStartup&InnovationPolicy2019released

Rajasthan announced its startup policy in 2015. Later in 2017, the state government launched its flagship initiative iStart Rajasthan to provide further impetus to entrepreneurial ecosystem in the state. The iStart ecosystem now has over 1500 registered startups. Rajasthan Government now aims to launch the Rajasthan Startup & Innovation Policy 2019 to build upon the momentum and to provide a newer, collaborative and expansive ecosystem.


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Objectives of Rajasthan Startup & Innovation Policy 2019

• To promote an ecosystem through collaborative efforts to foster entrepreneurship in the state.

Period of the Policy

• The Policy shall remain in operation for a period of 5 years from the date of its notification or until substituted by another policy, whichever is earlier.

The Key Targets of Rajasthan Startup & Innovation Policy 2019

• Bring different stakeholders of the ecosystem on-board iStart. iStart to be the one- stop platform for startups and innovation in the state of Rajasthan;

• The district level offices of DoIT&C will be strengthened to work for the purpose of development of the startup ecosystem;

• Operationalize at least 5 sector specific Center of Excellences (‘CoE’) specifically in the areas of agriculture, energy, artificial intelligence, niche technologies, Internet of Things (‘IoT’), healthcare, tribal entrepreneurship, rural entrepreneurship, etc.;

• Run at least 10 accelerator programs;

• Issuance of at least 10 work orders every year under the Challenge for Change program;

• Operationalize government owned and managed 10 incubators/ incubator like organizations in the state;

• Facilitate the growth of 2,000 startups in the state;

• Connecting 75 institutes with iStart;

• Create 1 lakh employment through startups; and

• Facilitate the mobilization of INR 100 crores of angel and venture capital for investment in the state by both managing its own fund as well as partnering with already existing funds.

Mission Agendas of Rajasthan Startup & Innovation Policy 2019

1. Institutional Setup


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2. Simplified Regulations

3. Incubation

4. Financial Support to Startups

5. Fostering student Entrepreneurship

6. Outreach & Awareness

7. Policy Implementation & Execution

Other Salient features of the Policy:

The Rajasthan Startup & Innovation Policy 2019 also includes certain relevant features such as:

• A 15 member Startup Council under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister to play an advisory role and act as a think-tank for strengthening the startup ecosystem in the state.

• Constitution of the State Level Implementation Committee for recommendation of budgetary financial assistance and other ancillary activities for the program.

• Financial assistance in the form equity of up to INR 5 lakhs as Seed funding to assist startups in the prototype stage in product development, testing and trials, test marketing etc.

• A revolving fund of INR 500 crores – ‘Rajasthan Innovation Vision Fund (‘RAJIV Fund’) will be established.

• In general, the state government will provide incentives and exemptions over and above those extended by the Government of India.

• The Policy defines startup as any entity defined as a startup by Government of India’s regulations and notifications.

A startup defined as an entity that is headquartered in India, which was opened less than 10 years ago,

and has an annual turnover less than ₹100 crore (US$14 million) - Definition of Startup, GOI


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DraftRajasthanIPRPolicy2019Released

The department of Science & Technology (DST) of State Government of Rajasthan has released draft University IPR Policy - 2019 & draft Rajasthan IPR Policy 2019 -24 to transform the State into a globally recognized IP hub. This policy not only harness creation and protection of Intellectual Property, but also attract foreign investors and entrepreneurs in the State of Rajasthan.

Framing laws regarding protection and laying down the enforcement mechanisms of IPR, falls in the domain of the Central Government. However, the enforcement is through the agencies of the State. Government of India has declared 2010-2020 as the ‘Decade of Innovation’. Similarly, the National Intellectual Property Rights Policy 2016, has laid down a vision for a “Creative India, Innovative India”. The State Government of Rajasthan intends to consolidate the strategies and achievements made so far, by providing adequate infrastructural support coupled with improved facilitation mechanism.

What Is Intellectual Property?

Intellectual Property (“IP”) refers to any tangible or intangible property or asset, which is a product of the human intellect that has commercial value and includes any; literary and artistic works; and symbols, names and images used in commerce. Like any other property right, Intellectual Property Rights (“IPR”) allow creators, or owners of such IP to benefit from their own work or investment in a creation.

Read About: Intellectual Property Rights in India in Detail

Salient Features of Rajasthan IPR Policy 2019

VISION

• To make Rajasthan a hub of Innovation and Creativity, which will facilitate, both Economic and Social Growth, nurture Entrepreneurship and Start-up Ecosystem, promote Science and Technology and further boost both Manufacturing and Service Sectors.

MISSION

• To foster Creativity and Innovation, promote Entrepreneurship and enhance Socio-economic Growth coupled with cultural development.


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• To create a strong IP Ecosystem by creating awareness among existing and prosperous entrepreneurs, Startups.

• Nurture IP System by facilitating more IP Awareness and Creation, IP Commercialization, IP Enforcement in the State of Rajasthan.

OBJECTIVES:

• To create public awareness regarding IPRs.

• Generation of IPRs by formulating targeted programs.

• Protection of IPRS by meeting the standards set by international treaties and conventions and is aligned with National IPR Policy.

• Provide incentive for innovation (IPR).

• To encourage partnership between industry and academia/other research institutes.

• Commercialization of IPRs.

• Encourage Foreign Investment.

• Legal Protection & Legal Framework of IPR Laws among different sections of the society, entrepreneurs, investors, star-ups to create a balance between interests of Rights of the owners and the Public Interest at large.

• Development of Human Resources.

• To utilize available IP instruments for sustainable use of Rajasthan’s Biological / Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge (TK).

POLICY MEASURES:

• Constitution of State Level Monitoring Committee under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary & Principal Secretary S&T as Co-Chairman.

• Establishment of Rajasthan State Intellectual Property Council (RSIPC) in Jaipur, constituted under the Chairmanship of Principal Secretary S&T, GoR. RSIPC shall consist of 15 members selected from different sections of Society like Government, Industry, Academia, Research Institutions, Technical, Agriculture and Management Institutions etc.


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• Development of an online IP Portal & Helpline to assist and facilitate IP Awareness, IP registration, IP protection and IP commercialization of intellectual assets generated in the State.

• Establishing IP Cells and Technology Transfer Offices (TTO) at Educational Institutions and Universities.

• Setting up of regional IP Promotion and facilitation hubs for SMEs, MSMEs and Start-up companies.

• Rajasthan Council of S&T (RAJCOST) shall be the Nodal Agency for conducting Capacity Building Programs and implementing all schemes under this policy.

• Introducing IP schemes and provide infrastructural assistance. Proposed schemes include:

• Patent/Invention Protection Scheme

• Patent Commercialization Scheme

• GI Protection Scheme

• Efforts will also be made for providing benefits under the existing schemes of GoI such as "Scheme for facilitating Start-ups Intellectual Property Protection (SIPP Scheme) " and others as applicable from time to time.

• Organising Annual IP Commercializtion and Showcase Event.

• Taking effective measures to ensure strengthening of the enforcement of IPRs.

• Facilitation of Registration of IP.

Documents

October November 2019 - RajRAS · 2019. 12. 11. · Rajasthan Current Affairs October November 2019 - RAJRAS 1 Summary of Livestock Population in Rajasthan S.NO Variety State Rank